DIY: Pretty Pineapples!

Pineapples are huge right now and I think it's the coolest summer trend! So I wanted to make myself a pineapple tank like the ones I have been seeing all over the Internet. Not gonna lie, I still have my eye on a few and might buy them, but it was nice to take this one to the beach with me! This whole project cost less than $20!

Step One: Collect your supplies. 

You'll need a white tank top, yellow, green, and gold paint, a pen, a stencil, and a few paintbrushes in different sizes. 

I bought this white tank at Target in the athletic section. Looking back I wish I had gotten one with smaller straps and less of a muscle tank look, but I can always make another one! When picking out your shirt, just make sure that it is mostly cotton because the paint will absorb better. It also helps to wash your shirt before painting it. 

I only used fabric paint in the gold because craft paint works really well on fabric and I already owned the the colors I needed. If you prefer fabric paint or if you're buying these colors just for this project then definitely go for it! 

For the stencil, I drew my own pineapple and then cut out the pieces that would be painted with an X-acto knife. I will do my best to get a .pdf of my stencil on here so that you can print it and cut it out. You can also find some great examples and clipart online here. Just save the image, print it at the size you want on the shirt and then cut out the stencil. (If you use someone else's artwork, please don't sell the shirts you make! That's stealing someone's hard work!) 

Step Two: Protect your shirt!

Slide a piece of cardboard or a paper shopping bag in between the layers of your shirt so that the paint doesn't seep through to the back layer. You will want to leave this in the shirt until it is completely dry!

Step Three: Trace it!

Grab your pen (or pencil) and trace the stencil that you made. I like using a pen because the lines show up better, but if you're worried about it showing then a pencil will work, too!

Step Four & Five: Color in the lines!

Think back to the elementary school and start painting in the lines. I used a square, flat paintbrush to fill in all the yellow shapes. I found that the squared-off edge made it easier to get clean lines. Don't worry about the pen lines showing through! We are going to cover them up with a very opaque gold paint. If you don't want the gold then you will just need to add a few more layers of paint to cover it up.

Then I used a really fine paintbrush to do the leaves at the top. Once I was finished, I free-handed a few more to make it look fuller and more balanced.

Step Six: Work that Puffy Paint!

Grab the gold paint and using the fine tip just outline the edges of your yellow shapes. I originally was going to paint these lines, but I realized the tip on the fabric paint made it so much easier and eliminated the possibility to make the lines different widths. I was unsure about it being puffy. I didn't want it to look like a '90s shirt I found at Goodwill, but the paint definitely flattened out as it dried!

I hope you all have an awesome time making your very own pineapple shirts! I'd love to see pictures if you chose to make one! Tag me on Instagram (@magnoliasandsunlight) or tweet me a pic (@evinelizabeth) so I can see your creations!

Don't forget to spread some sunlight to someone today!

Love you tons,